McDonough: ‘Victory’ in Syria Is Assad Not Using Chemical Weapons Again

By Andrew Johnson —
September 8, 2013

White House chief of staff Denis McDonough defined success for American intervention in Syria as deterring the Syrian regime from using chemical weapons again, rather than changing the balance of forces in the country’s ongoing civil war. Overthrowing the Assad regime is an “issue for Syrians to resolve,” he told NBC’s David Gregory on Sunday.

“Victory in this targeted effort means that he is degraded from doing it again, that deterred from doing it again,” McDonough said.